Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Trailer hitch question

I don't know who plumdumb is but he's right. I can add lots of water jugs but when they're empty, we still need to drive it home.

If you're going to add lead weight, it might as well be in batteries.

I'd have tounge weight between 10-13% empty or without any camping and personal belongings.

Phil

I have been amazed at how many RVers always travel with empty tanks and always use the public restrooms.

It would be worth getting the trailer weighed when it is fully loaded to see if you are in the ballpark with your 230 lb tongue weight. The results might surprise you.

Also check the axle mounting. Torsion axles usually have a steel channel that is bolted to the bottom of the main frame. If there are multiple mounting holes, moving the axle back even an inch might solve your problem.

Is the problem worse when the water tank is only partially full? A bunch of water sloshing back and forth can really make things unstable.

Your idea of moving the spare tire from back to front is a good one.

Jerry

If you haven't called Casita, I would. As another option, try this https://www.casitaforum.com/invboard/

They have sold thousands of those. Hard to believe that it's a design problem. Maybe the forum listed above will give some insight if others are experiencing the same issue.

If you have room, I can't argue with that. If not, underneath in the frame is a good option.

Buy 2 30 pound propane tanks. Same footprint more weight. Fill the water tanks when you get closer to your destination?
Just use the bigger vehicle to tow it. If your camping it’s already for fun saving money by driving an inferior vehicle and causing more stress on what is supposed to be a relaxing trip makes no sense….

If the trailer is swaying the tongue is too light.I would put a bracket and add 2 more batteries up front

Just get a suitcase type tractor counterweight and bolt it to the underside of the a frame with some u bolts.

Stop soon after leaving and refill water jugs. Pick up more wood.

This isn't rocket science.

Just bolt or weld a 100 lb tractor weight under the tongue.

Can't the location of the axles be adjusted on many Recreational trailers?

There's something else going on. This camper is a proven design that has been around for decades. No way should you have to be adding weight to the front to make it track. Call Casita' or get on their forum to find the answer.

I’d be checking wheels/tires/axle/hitch ball height/spring attachments, before I got too carried away with weight distribution. Is the tongue straight?? Any chance the spring perches weren’t located “equally” (and thus, axle is not tracking “straight”?? A 1/2” to an inch would do it.) Etc...

UPDATE: I'd previously rigged up a scale setup using an electronic bathroom scale. I just found that it's very inaccurate for this. The electronics do some screwy things. I redid it using a hanging scale that's more accurate. I now find that the tongue weight fully loaded is 350lb. That's about 11% of the gross wt, enough to minimize sway from low tongue wt.
I carefully measured from the tires to the hitch and find that there's only about 1/2" difference. Casita uses a Dexter Torsion axle, not a spring type. They're bolted (welded on older models) to the frame and aren't adjustable so that 1/2" is going to stay 1/2".

I have the ball height set so it rides level. I'll try lowering it a little since it's an adjustable ball mount. I suspect that the real solution is going to be a WD hitch.

When we bought a used 16' Shasta in 1973, my dad immediately put a load leveling hitch on our 1973 GMC one ton long box crew cab. Watching what those hitches do to the interplay between the tow vehicle and the trailer, they are worth every penny they cost. I wouldn't consider towing a bumper pull holiday trailer without one.

I have an old 23' camp trailer that's my hunting rig. It weighs 5500 with a 500lb tongue wt. It pulls fine behind my 3/4 ton Dodge diesel UNTIL I load my Polaris RZR in the bed. The RZR is heavy on the rear axle and that puts too much weight behind the truck axle so things get squirrely. A WD hitch fixes it up nicely.

350# pounds should be adequate, if it was constant. The problem is that the single axle allows the trailer to transfer weight between front and rear. Lowering the ball should help, beyond that a WD hitch. I don't know if there are WD hitches designed for lighter trailers, I'd think there should be but I've never looked for one.